


Nuptials

by tatooedlaura



Series: Life, Part 3 [23]
Category: The X-Files
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-01
Updated: 2018-04-01
Packaged: 2019-04-16 18:09:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14170608
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tatooedlaura/pseuds/tatooedlaura
Summary: a wedding ... of sorts ...





	Nuptials

Charlie and Bill had no objections to the marriage; the wives were ecstatic about the wedding; the children were over the moon that Uncle Skimmer would be Uncle Skimmer all the time now. Dave called up and objected on the grounds that he was not asked for approval but his smile could be heard across the phone line and Maggie scolded him, telling him he would be banished to the back of the room if he kept his line of nonsense up.

She was amused.

Scully had come around, telling Mulder before she fell asleep against him not much later the previous night, that she would be fine tomorrow, a real, honest fine, because she was trying out a new thing called ‘taking the day as it comes’. Mulder wondered just how long that would last but he embraced it, crouching down to say good morning to his Upgrade before taking the frozen waffles she handed him the next morning.

Later that day, as piles of paper grew and papercuts threatened, hunger pangs drove Scully to eat three pickles and a roast beef and provolone wrap while Mulder snacked on his perpetual bag of sunflower seeds, she asked in between bites, “so it’s Tuesday. Want to bet when the wedding’ll happen?”

Digging out wallet and slapping $5 on the desk, “before summer.”

With a ‘psshht’ and a snort, Scully pulled a matching bill from the purse on the chair beside her and tossed it towards him, “I give them a week. Probably less. Logic dictates that everyone will already be together for Sunday dinner so why not just do it then.”

Damn it. He could see Maggie thinking exactly that but he’d already called his time frame so playing it cool, “you know. That would still be before summer.”

Another snort hit him, “argue all you want. I’m going to win anyways.”

“Whatever.”

&&&&&&&&&

She had his money in her pocket by that evening, Maggie calling to make sure Sunday would be good for a fairly quiet, unobtrusive, intimate ceremony in the front room followed by their normal dinner.

&&&&&&&&&

Standing there, having finally given in to looser tops and stretchier pants, Scully clutched her wad of Kleenex as she watched her mother walk alone down their makeshift aisle towards a polished Skinner, sans bruises, in a new suit and tie, glasses straight, back rigid, standing at attention with the biggest smile plastered on his face.

Father McCue, old family friend that he was, stood before the two of them, shortening the ceremony to accommodate Skinner’s rusty Catholicism and lack of organist to sing them through prayers.

Scully found she didn’t need her Kleenex, her eyes dry, her mind calm in the face of six-day earlier breakdown. Stuffing them in Mulder’s jacket pocket, she then reached down to hold his hand, first finding a finger, then two, her hand engulfed by his before the count of three. For some unknown reason, he had the sudden urge to look at her and never fighting that feeling, he turned, glanced, tilted his head.

She was giving him the slowest spreading smile he’d ever seen, skin creasing at glacial speed, eyes crinkling, cheeks lifting, millimeters at a time …

That was a look he hadn’t seen in a long time, possibly ever but he could read it plain as day, his brain processing in a heartbeat and before he knew it, his face was doing the same, eyes locked to her twinkling blue sparks of radiant perfection and spontaneous exaltation. It was only when he believed his face would split in two that he leaned in, whisper dropping six inches to receptive ears, “really?”

“Yeah.”

“Really really?”

“Really really really.”

He would have kissed her flat out right there but the sharp finger in his back pulled him back to the here and now, Dave leaning forward, “pay attention. If I have to watch Skimmer kiss Aunt Maggie, so do you.”

They watched the kiss from beginning to end, decorum dictated four second contact reached amid clapping and whistling, Charlie letting out a perfect pitch zing that ended the ceremony with grace and style.

Once the hullabaloo had died down, people shifting, moving, about to begin shutting borrowed folding chairs, Mulder gave one last look at her, seeing serene truth and excitement fighting for dominance on her face and still smiling, squeezed her hand, then called to the room, “hold on, folks, keep your seats … there’s a bit of an aftershow you might not want to miss.”

Turning her around, he escorted Scully up the aisle, hand on her lower back, flashback to seven years ago burning through both their minds. Confused by new and unscripted events, everyone sat back down, including Walter and Maggie, pretty darn sure what was coming and dually hoping they were right.

Once up front, Mulder whispered to Father McCue, still standing, wondering until Mulder’s words of non-existent Catholicism registered, then, nodding smile, he stepped away, leaving an empty space, which Mulder knew exactly who to fill with.

Addressing the crowd first, however, “so, I should have asked Dana here to marry me long about 1993 but it took until 1994 for me to realize it … then she shot me and made me reevaluate us as a couple. She fixed me right up though and since then, I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment. If you know us, however, you know the perfect moment really doesn’t exist. Right there,” pointing towards the back of the house, “in the middle of the night, Scully decided to do it instead, asking me if I’d marry her someday. I said yes and asked her if she’d marry me someday as well.” Grin wider, “someday decided to be right now.” Looking across the crowd, absorbing the news, amused by the news, genuinely happy about the news, he stopped his search on Byers, “you there, John Fitzgerald Byers, would you dust off that non-denominational ordination and come up to do the honors?”

He did not need to be called on twice.

Straightening his tie, buttoning his jacket, he smoothed his hair, folded his hands, walked sedately to the front of the room and in his clear voice, weight of love for his best friends evident, he married them.

Well, he began marrying them.

He only made it as far as the rings when Scully, in un-Scully fashion, spoke out of turn, “we don’t have rings!”

A chuckle snaked through the room, Mulder’s smile returning full force, along with his ‘I’ve got a secret’ dueling eyebrow wiggle, “ye of little faith.” Out of his pocket came two gum wrappers, Scully’s unused tissue, a fork and a ring box, all imposing in blue velvet domed top, “I come prepared for all occasions.”

Since everything surrounding her at that moment had a surrealistic clarity to it, she reached her fingers into his other pocket, fishing around through sunflower seed casings and a handful of M&Ms, “do you have one in there I can use?”

“Nope. Sorry. One ring per coat.”

She was in her own little heaven, “I’ll get one for you tomorrow, deal?”

“Deal.”

Byers cleared his throat, “do you have your own vows or would you like to repeat after me?”

Mulder, grin suddenly failing, swallowed hard, “I’ve never been one for following the rules so I think I’ll just do my own, if that’s all right?”

Scully nodded, his sudden seriousness making the room disappear, “of course.”

Taking her hands, he kept the ring securely on his pinkie while he talked, “I love you. It’s that simple. I’ve loved you in some way since you walked into that basement and shook my hand. You’ve given me hope and life and family and a home and I don’t think, even if I tell you I love you every second from now through eternity, that I’ll ever be able to make you truly understand what you mean to me. I red M&M you to the Moon and back, Scully, now and forever.”

Well, if that didn’t make every female in the room and a good portion of the males tear up.

Scully, however, couldn’t stop looking at him and knowing tears would blur the vision of him, she fought for all she was worth to keep her eyes dry. It helped when Mulder took her hand, went to slide the ring on her finger and through his own soggy voice, declared, “well, crap.”

Because Jake was Jake and Jake did these things, he piped up from his seat, “you can’t say ‘crap’ at a wedding, Uncle Mudler, no matter what’s wrong.”

“Yes, I can Jake, because,” moving the ring to several other fingers, “your Aunt Dana’s fingers and her ring did not have a discussion about whether they wanted to cooperate.” Giving Scully a sheepish look, “I apparently do not have a ring that will fit.”

The room chuckled, Scully chuckled, even Mulder chuckled after a heartbeat, during which Scully held out her thumb, “put it on there for now. You always did like a good thumbs up.”

Doing as told, he admired her now bedazzled digit, “that’ll work nicely, thank you.”

Taboo kiss on the cheek later, she took a deep breath, Byers prompting her, “Scully, would you like to say your own vows as well?”

Oh, the damn waterworks were already pinging the corners of her eyes, “yes, please.” Looking up at Mulder, the room silent again, “you have been my everything for so long, I have no idea how I could go on in life without you. You’ve held me up, held me close, held my world in your hands; you’ve searched for me, rescued me, fought for me, fought with me, fought for us in so many ways. You are the father of my children,” her voice narrowly cracking, “and the love of my life.” Deciding why not, she reached back into his snack pocket and pulled out the M&Ms, finding a red one amongst the blues and greens and pocket lint. Rolling it in her fingers, she held it up so he could see, “I gave you a red M&M in the car such a long time ago and I’m giving you one today in lieu of a ring, ‘cause, you know, I red M&M you to Jupiter and beyond.”

Byers never made it to the pronouncement of ‘man and wife’ given Mulder nearly knocked him backwards getting to Scully and her lips, warm, full and happily waiting for her husband.

Bill, and he would never admit it outloud, clapped the loudest for them, finally seeing, full force and clear as day, that Mulder did indeed love his sister.

The rest of them, having been waiting for Maggie and Skinner, realized they still had confetti poppers in their hands and deciding this was the exact proper moment, pulled the strings, releasing a flurry of paper streamers and smoke towards both married couples, kids giggling, adults cringing as smoke burned their nostrils, Maggie and Walter hugging and laughing, Mulder still kissing his wife.

His wife.

And Scully kissing her husband.

It was only when Scully began smiling that Mulder followed suit and pulling back, found the thumb holding the ring, bringing it up between them, “sorry about the sizing.”

“Shush it. I may wear it here all the time. I have to ask, though. When did you get it?”

“When I went ring shopping with Skinner. It was a manly ring shopping, complete with coffee and crullers and possibly several arguments about basketball. I saw it, wanted it, bought it. Took all of about 30 seconds.”

Finally looking at the three-in-a-row diamonds set in gold, simple, low-profile, two sizes too big perfection of Scully personality and sparkle, “you did very well.”

Popping his M&M in his mouth, “so did you.”

Byers leaned forward, unimposing in his interruption, “excuse me … one more thing.”

Never taking his eyes from Scully, “yeah?”

“I now pronounce you man and wife.”

With a laugh, he kissed Byers' cheek before returning to Scully’s mouth, “thank you. Now go away.”


End file.
